The present invention relates to a MICR reading mechanism for reading MICR characters printed with a special magnetic ink, and concerns the realization of the accurate reading of MICR characters by a scanner having a center paper feeding mechanism.
MICR (magnetic ink character recognition) characters are such that the position on the paper (medium) where the characters are to be printed has been determined by standards, and that which constitutes its reference is the distance from an end portion of the printed paper in a direction (width direction) perpendicular to a feeding direction in which the paper fed. In addition, the sizes of the characters have also been determined by the standards. When the MICR characters are read, it must be ensured that the characters pass over the reading head in conformity with the position and the size prescribed in these standards.
In the case of a scanner having a center paper feeding mechanism, it is necessary to set the center paper feeding mechanism in the state such as the one shown in FIG. 4A.
Related MICR reading mechanisms for reaching MICR characters are in many cases exclusive-use devices (refer to JP-A-1-192628), and in order to read the MICR characters printed at a predetermined position on the paper in a skewless state, the printed paper is abutted against an abutment plate, so as to read them in a state which is free of skew or the like.
Here, with a related scanner having the center paper feeding mechanism, the end portion in the width direction of the paper serving as a reference for a position where the MICR characters are printed is not fixed, as shown in FIG. 4C. Therefore, since the MICR characters do not pass over the MICR reading head, reading has been impossible.
In addition, in a case where documents with different sizes are loaded in a mixed form, the end portions in the width direction serving as the reference for the position where the MICR characters are printed are misaligned. Therefore, since the MICR characters do not pass over the MICR reading head, reading has been impossible.
In addition, with a related scanner having the center paper feeding mechanism, there are cases where the paper skews, as shown in FIG. 4B, so that there have been cases where reading fails.
As described above, the following problems are encountered with the related art.
With a related scanner having the center paper feeding mechanism, which is not a reader exclusively used for MICR characters, the end portion in the width direction of the paper serving as the reference for the printing position of the MICR characters is not fixed but moves. Therefore, it is impossible to allow the MICR characters to accurately pass over the MICR reading head, making reading impossible.
In particular, in cases where documents of different paper sizes are loaded in a mixed form, the end portions in the width direction of the paper serving as the reference for the printing position of the MICR characters become misaligned for each sheet of paper, so that reading has been impossible.